Shattered Memories
by LostKauze607
Summary: Set during the invasion of Krisina, the story plot will follow canon. The invasion will still happen, this plot line takes place at the same time and will diverge unto itself later. Plz R/R
1. Chapter 1

Armored Core: For Answer/Break Blade crossover

Disclaimer: I do not own AC or Break Blade.

Summary: Set during the invasion of Krisina, the story plot will follow canon. The invasion will still happen, this plotline takes place at the same time and will diverge unto itself later.

**Island off southern coast of Krisina**

Off the southern coast of the Krisinain Kingdom, lies an island rich with quartz deposits. At the behest of King Hodr, a small research team was sent to investigate the quartz veins. Even though Hodr knew of the incoming invasion force, he still sent the team. From Binonten, the research team along with the aid of two golems headed to the island as fast as possible. Using trade routes and canyon walls to help protect them, they had arrived at the island within three days. Hodr had ordered that any and all information of the quartz and what they had found be labeled secret.

Reaching the southern coast had not been a problem for them. However, crossing the waters to get on the island had been another ordeal. Fortunately, the golems had been equipped with a collapsible boat that could be used. The only problem was that the golems had to be left behind due to weight issues. After sailing to the island for another day, they had finally reached their goal. Among the team one young man smiled as he looked at the land. Once settled on land, the research team and the two golem pilots set up a small camp. After that had been complete they set off to look over the island. While not small, the island was large enough to settle a base camp that could possibly house a good number of golems. Moving farther inland, the two golem pilots that had come with them began to take notes of the terrain.

Large jagged spires of rock shot forth from the ground, craters of various sizes littered the ground also. The landscape looked as though it had been through its own war. After taking notes, the two pilots and the researchers moved on. A few hours later, near the center of the island they had come across something that bothered them. A large facility, easily the size of the castle itself lie half buried under sand, rock and other elements caused by the times. Moving up to the facility, the researchers began to look around it for any kind of information that could tell what it was. The two golem pilots had split up, taking a few members of the team with them to better try and understand what was happening. The first golem pilot had taken three researchers with him and headed off into the eastern direction of the large building. The other golem pilot took the remaining team and headed west, little did he know that his life was about to change...in a very good way.

"Check everything, do not let the littlest detail escape your eyes" the pilot told them. He had a feeling that something was going to happen, but he did not know what. Going ahead of the group the pilot run his hand along the wall admiring the work put into creating such a large complex. Continuing to run his hand on the wall, he turned a small corner and his jaw literally dropped to the ground.

Before him, as large as the building itself was a massive door. Easily twice the size of any golem, the door looked as though time itself could not bring her down. Gathering his wits the pilot signaled for the team with a loud shout.

"Come quickly, and bring your tools!"

Hearing the pilots shout, they had gathered their belongings and went to him. Upon reaching the pilot however, they too let their jaws drop in surprise. One researcher got her wits about her and walked up to the pilot and then looked at the door. She raised her finger to speak, mouth open to use her vocal cords but nothing came out. She was too amazed by the sheer size of the door.

"Wha-what shall we do, sir?" she had asked the pilot. Looking at the door one more time, the pilot then looked to her and smiled softly. He used his left hand to run along the door once more before a soft beep was heard where his fingers grazed the metal.

'What was that noise just now? This building appears to be hundreds of years, if not even thousands of years old. Nothing could be alive or working for that matter.' The pilot thought to himself before speaking to the research team.

"Use your tools; see if we can gain access to the interior of this...building. Once you have access, do not enter it. Do I make myself clear?" he told them with a stern voice. The female researcher nods at his order and then issues the order to the rest of her team. Sighing softly, the pilot runs his fingers through his black hair, in the process slicking it back away from his eyes. He looks up at the door and brings his right hand up to cup his chin in thought.

'Think, Daemoin...think. You heard some sort of noise when you put your hand over the door. What could have caused it?' the pilot, now known as Daemoin, ponders to himself.

**Same time, other side of the facility**

The other pilot and the researchers he had taken with him had been over the other side of the building over and over. He sighs to himself and leans against the wall, rubbing his temples slightly; he lets out a laugh suddenly.

"Have you found anything yet?" he asks, already knowing the answer to his question.

"No sir, not yet. But we have found some quartz nearby. The others are already digging it up to test it." The lead researcher told him.

As he said that, a low rumbling noise could be heard from the wall the pilot was leaning on. Freaking out and drawing his pressure pistol the pilot, turned and pointed it at the wall. Only to stare at the wall with a dumbfounded look on his face. Soft laughing could be heard behind him and he blushed from the embarrassment, he coughed into his hand as he holstered his pistol and sighed again. Though now, his mind was plagued with one thought...what was that rumbling sound?

**Back with Daemoin**

The massive door that had been closed now stood open. A rush of stale, stagnant air rushed out to greet them, forcing them to cover their noses from the smell. Daemoin could only look on in rapt fascination at what lie before him. A corridor the same size as the door stretched out before him before making a downward angle. He and the team slowly gathered the equipment they brought with them and slowly entered to the doorway.

"Be careful, and don't touch anything unless I say otherwise." He warned them, they had come all this way and he be damned if anything bad happened. Watching as the others made their way inside, he too slowly went inside after them. His eyes scanned every detail of the large hall that lay before him, scorch marks, holes in the walls and parts of the ceiling. To him, it looked as though there was a fight here between golems. Of that though, he could not be sure. Making their way further into the complex, one researcher pointed out another hall, this one seemed to be of normal size.

'So, this...place, also housed humans too maybe? This is just too confusing to me.' Daemoin though once more. He pointed to the hall and told them to check it out while he ventured farther down the hall. Saluting him and getting the equipment, the team made the way down the hall. Rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers, he climbed a set of stairs off to the side and walked up to a human sized door. Much like the door at the very front of the complex, he looked to the side of the door and saw some sort of latch.

**Flashback**

Daemoin stood before the massive metal door in thought. The team had begun to look around the door for some sort of access point or smaller door to enter in. However, Daemoin took his left hand and went over the same point he had grazed before. Again he heard the soft beep, blinking he used both hands to move the dirt and rock that covered what may have beeped before. To his surprise, an indent in the wall had been found. He called the team over to look at it while he stood back to let them work. For what seemed like an eternity, the team could not figure out how to work the contraption. Feeling his eyebrow tick slightly, Daemoin walked over and politely excused himself so he could get to the indent. Sighing at the team he reared back and punched the indent as hard as he could. Once skin and metal made contact the beep was heard again, and a chilling feeling traveled up Daemoin's arm to his brain. For a few seconds he stood stock still until his nerves got the best of him and he grabbed his hand and started to jump around. Screaming curses and profanity, Daemoin continued to jump around holding his poor hand. The researchers enjoyed a laugh at their commanding officers expense. With anime style tears running down his cheeks, Daemoin turned to them while kissing his knuckles muttering about boo boos and the like, he was going to say something when a loud rumbling was heard...

**End Flashback**

Not wanting a repeat of before, Daemoin began to look around the latch to see if there was anything out of the ordinary...other than this whole complex he reminded himself. Grasping the lever, he pulled downward only to have the lever not budge at all. Leveling a glare at the latch, he pulled again, this time a bit harder...the lever moved only slightly. Signing, Daemoin used both hands to try and pull again, nothing. Slowly he climbed on top on the lever and began to jump up and down on it comically, until he lost his footing and well...

**With the researchers**

A loud wailing sound could be heard where the team was located. They had found what looked like to be a control room of sorts. Control panels lined the middle and some of the walls. A row of glassed lined one wall, but with the age of the building they could not see the other side. Shaking their heads, the team went back to taking notes everything they had seen so far with a chuckle going through the group.

"Sounds like our captain had another spill." The lead female tech said with a small laugh. The others agreed and went back to doing what they do best...researching.

**Doorway with Daemoin**

We found our golem pilot appearing to sit with his arms crossed and a look of pure anguish on his face. The look he has though is not from hearing that someone close to him died. No, this looks is the look of eternal pain from having ones...family jewels kicked, or in this case...falling on a lever after it gives one to the numerous jumps on it. Sliding from the lever, Daemoin grabs between his legs and writhes on the floor in pain. The door then opens with a hiss of air and his attention goes to the door while he is still in pain. After a few minutes of nothing but pain, Daemoin rights himself and stands up on wobbly legs. Stepping through the doorway he sees nothing but darkness ahead of him. Reaching into his uniform pocket he pulls out a quartz powered torch and ignites the light.

After the light is turned on, Daemoin shines the light down the hall and sees a faint yellow glow. Thinking it might be a lamp he slowly makes his way toward it, with his pressure pistol in hand mind you. Upon reaching the yellowish glow, he realizes that it is another access way. Only this one does not have any levers or indents 'Thank you! No more pain!' He walks up to the door and looks up at the light with a curious expression.

'How is this light on...if this complex is as old as I think it may be then the power should have run out eons ago?'

Reaching the door, he puts the light between his teeth to hold it and holsters his pressure gun. Placing his gloved hands on the door, he notices a seam in the middle. Grasping as much of the seam as he can, Daemoin slowly starts to pull the door apart, only for it to give way and fly open on both sides causing him to tumble forward and roll a few feet and hitting a wall. Now looking at the door upside down, he sighs and rights himself. Dusting his coat and pants off, Daemoin reaches down for the light and at the same moment pulls out a tele-quartz crystal. Focusing his energy into the quartz, it glows a soft blue for a moment until a voice is heard on it.

"Captain? Is that you?" the voice asks.

"Yes, it's me. What have you found?" he asks the crystal.

The voice is silent for a moment before the lights in the room the captain is in turn on with a flicker. Daemoin blinks for a moment and is dumbfounded...once more.

"Well sir, I do believe the room we are in may be a control center of some sort. Or at least that's what we believe. We have been going over these panels again and again. Whoever built this complex used our language; we can use these panels with ease. But I cannot for the life of me figure out how the power is still running. The doors should be working as well now, have you found anything on your end sir?"

Blinking for a moment, Daemoin turns around to see that he is in another hallway. The hall seems to stretch a few good hundred feet that leads to another door, only this one is a bit bigger, but not by much. He starts to walk down the hall slowly.

"I am in another hallway, roughly ten feet tall but the length is unknown to me right now. Another door is at the end from what I can tell; it's a few feet bigger that the one I came through. For now, see if you can decipher any useful information that the King may need on the quartz veins, and also gather any and every single bit of info on this place. I have a feeling something good will come out of it." (Oh how right you are good sir Daemoin.)

"Yes sir. Oh! Some good news you may want to hear. We found a map of this place and...Oh my."

"What? What is it?"

"Sir, you're not going to believe this. But this...this place is a hanger of some sort. The map shows a large warehouse type room at the other end of the building. I cannot tell if the room is still in good shape or not though, the map is very old and looks to be engraved into the wall."

"Don't worry, we need to find the quartz veins and report back to the King ASAP. I will continue my investigation and tell you what I find. Daemoin out..."

Pocketing the quartz, Daemoin had made his way to the other door and looks at it very cautiously. 'Not this time you over grown patio door.' As he walks closer the door seems to know he is there and opens slowly on its own. Feeling his brow twitch once more, he slowly enters the room and he stands there for a moment. The door shuts behind him on a hiss of air like the door before. Turning around, his eyes widen slightly to see that he is on some odd piece of machinery with a panel in the far corner. Walking over to it, he waves his hand over the panel, expecting it to react to his energy. Only to his sad luck it did not work. Kneeling down and leaning back against the wall, Daemoin rests for a moment and yawns. Bringing his arms up to rest his head on instead of the cold wall, his right hand hits the panel by mistake and whirrs into life. Daemoin bolts up from his sitting position and looks around. The floor rumbles and then starts to lower, he rushes to the middle of the floor afraid something might fall on him. Instead, he and the floor slowly begin to lower down; he looks on in awe while the elevator takes him down...way down. Reaching into his pocket again, he pulls the quartz out.

"Ms. Kelar can you hear me?"

"Yes sir, how can I help you?"

"I uh...think I have found a lift of some sort. It is taking me down, a long way down. I have not found anything else though...yet. How about you?"

"Nothing yet sir, though we did manage to clean some of the panels off along with this glass windows here, you would not believe at what we are seeing. This place is amazing."

"What is it that you see?"

"The glass, I assume acts as a barrier to another room that we are trying to access at the moment. If I can describe this right, what I am seeing appears to be a crystal generator of some sort. Faint green lights are floating around it and it seems to be working fine."

"Do not go into that room without me, do you understand me? No telling what could be in that room and we do not know if the green lights are harmful to us. I shall return to your position shortly. This..." (Sound of crystal dropping and a gasp are heard).

"Sir? Sir! What's going on?"

Daemoin slowly walks toward the farther wall that has a fence of sorts on it and he grasps the fence softly. His eyes take in the sight before him with wonder, before he snaps out of it and picks the crystal back up.

"Ms. Kelar...I think I may have found that room you were talking about...and you are right. It is enormous; this room could easily fit half our golems standing atop one another. The width...I cannot even imagine. The lift is coming to the bottom now, I see something in the far corner, and crates upon crates litter the ground everywhere. See if you can get to my location, and contact the others at the surface. Tell them to get ready to move out. I shall be there shortly after I look around here."

"Yes sir!"

Daemoin exits the lift and whistles at the sheer size of the room as he makes his way over to the corner where a massive white cloth covers part of the room. Reaching the cloth he looks up to see that it is retained in the ceiling of the room. Walking around to see if he can find an entry point, his efforts are paid off as he sees a small parting in the curtain. However, when he steps through the curtain he steps onto another lift, only this one is smaller and still covered by the curtain. He presses the control panel and slowly begins to rise up, instead of going down. Having reached its max height the lift stops and Daemoin turns to see something he thinks he shouldn't...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of Armored Core/Break Blade: Shattered Memories

Standard Disclaimer still applies…

Last Time: Daemoin found the massive room, now he finds something he thinks he shouldn't.

Upon turning to face what the lift had stopped on, Daemoin's eyes again widen comically. There before him, open for the world to see. A cockpit of all things, stepping closer he shines his quartz torch light into it and is amazed at what he sees. However, he cannot tell what surrounds the cockpit due to the curtain surrounding the lift. His curiosity soon gets the better of him and he tries to look out the lift but find he can't. Reaching back into his pocket and pulling the other quartz out, it glows blue once more.

"Ms. Kelar, have you and the others met up with the rest of the team yet?"

"Yes sir, we have. We are just waiting on you. And we have noted and gathered all materials you wanted for the King. There are plenty of quartz veins here, but sir. Should the King be told of this? It is an historic find, we should not let Athens or Orlando get a hold of it."

"I agree with you Ms. Kelar, but for now we need to return to the King. He sent us here to find the quartz, and we have done that. All the notes your team has, do not share with the other team, keep the notes to yourself. I will talk with you personally once I get to the surface with my find…"

"Sir?"

"You will see Ms. Kelar, you will see."

Over the crystal comm., a gunshot could be heard and then screams. Kelar's voice could be heard as it seemed she was running from whomever fired the pressure pistol. Daemoin began to panic and shouted over the crystal comm.

"Kelar! Kelar, report! What the fuck is going on up there?" he shouted.

"Sir…-cough- it's the other pilot. –Groan of discomfort- he is killing the other researchers."

"Fuck! Kelar, where are you?" Daemoin asks, fear evident in his voice.

"I…-cough- I'm making my way back to the control room. I think I might be able to lock the door from…-cough then a cry of pain- inside…" Labored breathing could be heard and a loud thunk as Kelar closed the door behind her.

Daemoin turns around looks at the cockpit with a blazing fury in his eyes. He steps toward the cockpit and then climbs inside, after he sits down in the seat, the hatch slams shut and locks into place. With the quartz torch still on, Daemoin fiddles with the controls and then touches the display screen a few times before cursing and then hits the screen with his fist. The screen, as if responding to his anger comes to life and blinks red a few times before settling on a green color. Text boxes appear and then fade away before the cockpit lights up and Daemoin looks around. He then looks at the HUD once more and tilts his head as the screen seems to stare back.

Tracing a finger over the words that appear on the screen, he reads to himself softly. Growing frustrated with it he screams.

"AH! Work damn you!"

The screen freezes slightly before blinking and then a whirring sound is heard as the machine he is in slowly powers up. The screen then reads one phrase:

[Begin start up procedures: Y/N]

Daemoin blinks and then grins as he gets somewhere with this scrap heap and presses the screen where the Y is. Another phrase comes up:

[Confirm pilot status and ID number]

Daemoin clicks his teeth slightly and begins to enter his name:

[Daemoin Strife]

The screen flickers and then glows blue as a check over list pops up on it. He is amazed at what he sees; it appeared to be some kind of parts list and gave a weapons check list as well. The screen then flashed red and a diagram pops up on a holographic display which freaked him. He and anyone before him and never seen something like this. The screen rotated and a mark indicated that a part was missing from the right arm. The display showed what appeared to be a golem in its own right. However upon looking at the screen more closely he saw it…the name of the beast.

ARMORED CORE – LANCEL TYPE

His train of thought was derailed as he remembered Kelar at the surface and screamed again. He gripped the controls and hit the screen.

"Grab something! Anything! I don't care what kind of weapon it is! I need to get to my team!"

As if hearing his plea the machine, once asleep for many years had come to life once again. The holograph stops spinning as the machine itself takes over for just a split second and a new part is attached to the right arm. Daemoin looks on as the part is coupled onto the right arm and the screen gives a thumbs up.

**Outside the cockpit – same time**

At the top of the curtain, a blue glow appears in a wide beam before slowly fading away to a soft blue line. The curtain flows slightly as the machine's left arm comes up and grasps the curtain and rips it down, the curtain instantly falls out of place and onto the AC. It covers the entire frame as the machine begins to walk. The massive right foot takes a step forward, gears and pistons could be heard moving for the first time in many a year. The groaning and hissing of the hydraulics made the machine shudder slightly as the generator awakens. As if on auto pilot, the AC slowly and carefully makes it way to the other side of the room. A soft beep comes from the display screen catching Daemoin's attention. The screen lights up clear as day as it shows the outside world, though still covered by the curtain the AC reaches up and moves the curtain slightly away from the camera in the head unit.

Daemoin now has a clear view of what's going on as the machine steps into a door much larger than it; he realizes this door is the very same one he saw on the ground level of the complex earlier. He knows what is going to happen and couldn't be happier. The AC steps onto the lift and then locks itself into place as the lift climbs upward, though it groans from the weight and not having been used in so long.

Reaching into his pocket, having to fight the restraints to get his quartz comm. Daemoin speaks softly into it. Hoping against hope that Kelar is alright.

"-whisper- Kelar, can you hear me?"

"-soft coughing is heard- yes sir…where are you?"

"I am coming up a lift now, are you still in the control room?"

"Yea, but I'm bleeding pretty bad sir. He shot me in the stomach twice before I could get away."

Daemoin growled as he heard that bit of news, his fellow pilot and his friend had turned on them just like that. That bastard would pay for this, he would see it though.

"Kelar, I'm almost at the top now. I want you to get ready; I have a… gift for our friend. It seems to be doing this by itself which will give me only a few moments to figure out how it works. The load out of this thing…I don't know what kind of weapons it has."

"But sir, what are you talking about. –cough- he doesn't have a golem remember? And besides, I think he took the boat back to the mainland, we can't get off this island."

"Yes we can, and we will with what I have. Even if he did get back to the mainland, it will take him at least two or three days march to reach the King. So at most we have two days to get you treated and for me to learn…"

Kelar could only blink as he said that, to her it had sounded like he was trying to read all over again. But with her mind being as groggy as it is from the blood loss she couldn't be sure. Until that is, a loud rumble could be heard inside the complex. Straining herself to sit up, Kelar looked out the door after she opened it to see the massive door across the way slowly open.

**Inside the Armored Core**

As the machine reached the top of the lift, the door slowly opened to reveal the white curtain clad form of the AC. Daemoin looked at the screen as he scanned it for a moment. Then another screen popped up and startled him:

[Auto-Pilot disengaged]

[Would the pilot like a tutorial Y/N?]

Daemoin pressed N and the screen vanished only to have another come up in its place. Only this time a small person appeared in the screen. Daemoin blinked and tilted his head, but before he could speak the cockpit opened and the restraints undid themselves and he was free. But before he could move, a voice spoke to him softly.

"I will remain here, Daemoin. Go and get you comrade."

Having had his fair share of surprises this didn't bother him one bit, that is until he turned around and went to climb out of the cockpit.

"Be careful pilot, it's a long fall if you slip –small laugh-"

Now that freaked Daemoin out and he then looked down to see how far up he was and turned a pale white. While most golems were only 5 meters high, the AC had to be at least 7 to 8 meters high. Thankfully, Daemoin gathered his wits about him and slowly began to climb down. Once he reached ground level he rushed over to where Kelar was waiting for him and he cursed. Looking down at her, he saw the two wounds the quartz bullets had made. Kneeling down he took his uniform jacket off and begin to rip pieces off into strips. Kelar watched and said nothing as Daemoin began his treatment.

"Kelar…this will hurt. But I need you to bear with it ok? I'm sorry for this…"

Before she could respond, he lightly gripped her neck and laid her down on the floor causing severe pain to well up in her stomach area from the wounds. She screamed out and cried as the wound was stretched open further. After a few minutes the pain subsided but not entirely. Daemoin sighed as he cracked his fingers and looks down at Kelar, he green eyes locked with oddly colored amethyst colored one. A silent agreement was reached between them as she closed her eyes and Daemoin winced as he slowly dug into one of the holes. Pain…unbearable pain shot through Kelar's body as he dug for the crystal. After a few tense minutes and loud screams, he got the first quartz crystal out. He tossed the bloody crystal away and cursed as more blood begins to flow out. Taking a strip of his jacket he ripped off he tied two long pieces together and slowly wraps them around her stomach and he places a larger pieces he folded a few times under it and closes his eyes before tying it off tightly.

Kelar gripped Daemoin's arm tightly, her nails breaking into his skin causing him to bleed as she tried to fight the pain. He then repeated the process with the other wound and tosses away the crystal before he wrapped the other wound. Kelar still had a hold of his arm he eyes looked glossy as she lay there. Her breathing was still somewhat labored but for now, this was all he could do until they got back to the Kingdom. Turning down to her Daemoin watched to see if she was alright, aside from the bullet holes in her stomach. She looked up at him and smiled faintly before looking back over to the towering white curtain.

"Sir…what is that thing?"

Daemoin looked up and over to the AC before he smiled some. He chuckled to himself at remembering the name of the machine. Looking back down to Kelar he spoke softly.

"That, my lady I had found in the room you told me of. It was hidden behind that curtain, hell I haven't even seen what it looks like yet. But, it may just turn the tide of the war into Krishna's favor soon…very soon."

Kelar looked at Daemoin as if he grew another head and then tried not to laugh but couldn't help it and a small chuckle escaped her. She then regretted it as the pain flared back up and tried not to scream. Daemoin just shook his head and then stood up.

"I am going to see if I can learn how to operate this thing. I know you can't move right now but…stay put. I'll be back shortly…I hope.

Kelar just groaned as she lay there, he head propped up on the remains of Daemoin's uniform jacket. She just shook her head and watched him walk over to the towering machine. He then climbed up it with some difficulty and entered into the cockpit. He sits himself down into the chair and sighs loudly only to freak out for the whatever time today.

"Welcome back, Daemoin."

"What the fuck!"

"Watch your tongue young man. Now…shall I introduce myself?"

Daemoin looked around the cockpit for a minute or so before the voice sighed and the HUD screen lit up softly to reveal a very much smaller version of the machine he now sits inside of. He could only blink and leaned down to see the tiny avatar, upon getting closer to the screen he hit his head on the display causing him to grab his head. The tiny avatar showed it's self just a bit bigger as to not take up the entire display and giggled softly. Where the head was located, it looked to be a visor of sorts and the pieces slide back to reveal a female face. She had orange colored eyes with teal green hair and she wore glasses surprisingly. Daemoin rubbed his head and then looked at the avatar with confused look on his face.

"Hi!"

"Uh…hi?" he said unsurely as he waved some.

The avatar giggled again and the machine itself moved, which scared the crap out of him and Kelar even though she was on ground level. Said avatar looked at Daemoin and smiled before she spoke again.

"If you're wondering, I'm the AI of this Armored Core. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Lancel. Named after the body frame and style work of the Core. I oversee the functions of the core as well as the vitals and condition of the pilot, which you are now."

Daemoin pointed to himself and blinked before smacking himself for such a dumb remark on his part. Now sitting up straight in the seat he looked at Lancel. He went to speak but Lancel beat him to it.

"You're wondering what an AI is, right?"

He nodded slightly.

"Well, an artificial intelligence or AI for short is what I am. A living computer, complete with personality, character, form and grace so to speak. The outfit you see on my person now, is the same configuration as the machine you now reside in. TYPE-LANCEL, manufactured by Rosenthal Company during the LYNX war. The frame you are currently sitting in was supposed to be for a pilot called a raven. A Raven, not the bird, but a term for a mercenary who takes any job no matter what the job and gets paid for her or her services. You however aren't registered in my database until just today."

Daemoin cupped his chin in thought as Lancel went to give the history of the Raven's, the National Disarmament War and the LYNX war all the way up until she was shut off and hid in the complex. Shaking his head and groaning from the headache he knew he was going to get, he then looked at the avatar.

"So what you are telling me is, you've been asleep for who knows how many years and you're a fighting machine. But you didn't have a pilot until I showed up, right?"

"That's about it. Speaking of which, can input the date so I can figure something out?"

And so he did, using the keyboard that was on the display, he entered in what he could and he heard a loud gasp after doing so. Leaning back, the holo-keyboard vanished to be replaced with Lancel. She looked confused, which to him looked cute on her he thought.

"This can't be right Daemoin."

"What? The date, yea it is right. Unless we are using a different type of calendar."

"No, No. That date is right, but…I've been asleep for close to five thousand years…"

Daemoin gawked and then sputtered for a moment and then sweat dropped. He then looked at Lancel and spoke with a firm tone.

"Lancel, I need to learn how to pilot you. One of my…no, I can't call him a comrade anymore. A traitor came with us here, but at the time we didn't know he was a traitor. I need to get back to my Kingdom and take care of him before he gets to the King. Please show me hoe to pilot you, my other friend down there need medical attention."

Lancel nodded and brought up a screen to show Daemoin how to pilot her frame. After the next few hours to get everything right, since he didn't want to screw up he got it down. He was amazed at the technology use to create Lancel. He knew…oh he knew that she could not fall into enemy hands. Now he just had to Kelar to the Kingdom...

**One day later – northern coast of island**

LANCEL stood at the coastline of the island, the white curtain now turned cloak swayed in the wind. Inside the cockpit say Daemoin with Kelar in his lap asleep. He had treated her wounds a few more times before she had given him the ok to move her. Luckily LANCEL could control her frame, but not much. She could kneel down to where Daemoin could climb up her leg to the cockpit.

Now they stood ready to return home to Krishna. Daemoin had his mind set on getting at the traitor and growled as he gripped the controls tightly. But one thing stopped him from getting back to his homeland…the sea. LANCEL could only giggle as she appeared on the HUD. Using the HUD she displayed a small video to him about her flight capability and he smiled.

"You are full of surprises aren't you Lancel?" he chuckled.

Lancel could only giggle and blush from embarrassment as she turned the video off and then her avatar popped up on screen. She looked at Daemoin and could see the determination in his eyes. She then spoke softly to him in a guiding voice.

"Daemoin, to activate my boosters all you have to do is press both control yokes forward and press both of the foot pedals down and they will ignite…hopefully."

"Hopefully? Ok…how about instead of just trying to take off right then and there, how about we try it first?" he quipped.

He did as he was instructed and pressed the controls forward and the pedals down, only slightly though as not to take off into the ocean. And fate or luck seemed to be on his side this time, because as he did that, the boosters ignited and the machine slowly started to lift off the ground and hover just a few feet above it. Daemoin grinned and tried to set the AC down on the ground as softly as he could so he wouldn't jar Kelar and cause her anymore pain. After the machine touched back down, Daemoin rotated his shoulders to get some kinks out and sighed.

"Do you have enough energy to get across the ocean back to the mainland Lancel? It took us a day by boat, and that was pushing it."

"Of course I do, I have energy to get to you kingdom in about 4 hours if I don't use my Overboost."

"Overboost? Wait…never mind don't tell me about it until later. Knowing me I'd want to try it but I can't, not with Kelar in here."

Lancel just smiled at Daemoin's thoughts toward his fellow comrade. Daemoin did the motions for the boosters and soon enough, LANCEL was airborne and gliding across the ocean and blazing speeds.

**Four and half hours later**

Four and a half agonizing hours later, LANCEL still covered by the white curtain turned cloak could be seen gliding across the rocky landscape of the Krishan kingdom. Kelar had woken and Daemoin had to stop so she could go do…female things. Hell, he had to go to the bathroom too, but now they were home.

"Kelar, I'm going to drop you off at the town outside of the kingdom, please stay there and get treated for your wounds. After I report back to the king and get my orders, I'll come back and pick you up so we can both give our report to him."

Kelar nodded and was grateful to Daemoin for taking care of her, but she couldn't help but think of the friends and comrades she had lost to that bastard traitor, whom she found out was named Guiness. Upon reaching the town, Daemoin set LANCEL down on the outskirts and helped Kelar to the town. Once there, she was swiftly taken to the nearest healer and hopefully would be back on her feet within a few days if not by the end of the week. Daemoin ran back toward LANCEL and climbed into the cockpit and immediately took off toward the kingdom in a full out run. He dared not use the boosters here if fear of giving away his position…but that didn't make any sense to him anyway. The thunderous footsteps of his machine shook the earth heavily.

"Almost there, almost there." He kept chanting to himself over and over. Daemoin looked at the HUD and saw smoke coming from the direction of the capital. His eyes widen at the smoke and in turn he ignites the boosters, the machine instead of gliding/hovering above the ground kept running but when the boosters ignited…the machine seemed to give a roar and took off and speeds not achieved when it hovered. Daemoin pushed LANCEL forward and up toward the capital, he reached a hill on the far side of the city. Stopping the AC and letting it settle, he saw that the fourth internal wall had been opened and Athens infantry and golems were storming the city. Turning to his left, the camera of the head unit still under the cloak spotted another unit of Athens troops.

"Lancel…"

"Yes, Daemoin?"

"Is there an estimate of how many golems there are on the Athens side?"

Lancel was quite for a moment as the siege of the capital continued and she did quick calculations while Daemoin looked on at the hill where the other troops were stationed. The camera zoomed in on the unit on the hill and Daemoin's hands gripped the controls tighter than before as he saw the cloaked forms of the Athens Elite unit. He knew of Borcuse and Io but the other forms he did not know of. For that matter, he didn't even know which Borcuse was.

Since that Unit was not attacking the capital for now, the AC turned and looked at the chaos that was befalling his home. Golems were scattered amongst the inner walls, the Athens golems seemed to not notice him yet. He may have been too far for them to see, or they were so focused on taking the capital to notice. Daemoin grinned and looked to Lancel and spoke.

"I know you have weapons Lancel, but I don't know of which kind."

Lancel went through her database rather quickly and she gasped at what see had seen before she looked up at her pilot. She pulled up a holograph of her unit and showed the locations of the weapons, still Daemoin could not see what her frame was like. Though he never did actually look either, he was intrigued by the massive weapon locked onto his shoulders. He pointed to the weapon and Lancel could only smile.

"That, my dear pilot is a long range cannon. It has massive firepower beyond belief and could easily level a small town. And before you ask, it does not use quartz. It uses a shell based weapon called a grenade, highly explosive."

At hearing the word explosive, Daemoin grinned and gripped the controls before a though hit him. He looked around the display for some kind of communication button or switch. Lancel looked on confused before she asked him.

"What are you looking for?"

"A comm. Button or switch to talk to General Baldr. I can see his and Narvi's units fighting down there."

"Oh, well all you had to do was ask."

Daemoin just shook his head and chuckled before his eyes hardened and a beep was heard, signaling that a comm. was open.

"General Baldr? Can you hear me? This is Golem Pilot Strife, sir"

A gruff voice answered him with surprise coupled with shots and sounds of crushing metal and glass shattering.

"Strife? Damn it man, where are you? We need all the golems we can get. Athens invaded through the fourth internal wall and we are being pushed back. But we have a secondary plan, I can't tell you about it over the quartz comm. but be ready once it starts, I'll give a flare for your signal, just get down here and help us!"

"Yes sir, but I need you and Narvi along with your units to get back as far as possible! I'm going to back you up."

Baldr raised an eyebrow before he saw a flash of light coming from a hillside just a few hundred from the fourth wall. It was the camera on the AC's head unit flashing a signal to Baldr and he just shook his head.

"What are you going to do? You are too far away to hit them from there boy."

Little did Baldr know, Hodr too saw the signal and saw the massive white cloaked form of LANCEL. Hodr looked to where the fourth wall was and saw that the form was near where Rygart and his temporary squad had been hidden in the wall. Hodr grabbed a quartz crystal and yelled into it.

"Baldr! Look to the fourth wall now!"

Everyone that heard the communiqué turned to the wall, Narvi gasped as she saw the massive form soon throw the cloak off. Rygart and his crew heard the communiqué as well and he looked through a small view port to see what was happening.

From under the white cloak, a mechanized hand reached up toward its head and slowly pulled the cloak off. The LANCEL-TYPE now stood in full view to those who were looking, the cloak slowly fell away and fell to the ground. The frame was huge, standing over 8 meters tall colored white with some yellowish/gold inlay around the wrists and shoulders. The legs also colored white with the same pattern slowly started to walk to the wall. The footsteps thundered across the capital and shook some of the golems near the wall. Once in a prime spot, the AC stopped walking and stood there. Daemoin got a manic grin as he twisted the control yolk on the right side, in turn the massive cannon equipped to the LANCEL's back uncoupled from the left side. The cannon itself rose up slightly and turned to the front, as the larger piece settled into place, the cannon unfolded again and then locked into place fully extended.

**Other side of capital – hillside**

Borcuse and his unit all watched as the Krishan golems all turned to look at where Io and his unit had marched in and Borcuse nearly spit his wine out. The sight of the giant machine with its cannon fully extended was a sight to behold. Yet, for some reason Borcuse felt something well up inside him. That's when he saw all the Krishan golems start to retreat back a ways.

"What in the hell is that thing! Order the others to retreat, NOW!"

Borcuse all but spit at his comm. officer and he could only watch in horror at what happened next…

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of Armored Core/Break Blade: Shattered Memories

Standard Disclaimer still applies…

Last time: Daemoin had arrived at the capital only to see it under siege from Borcuse. Borcuse has seen the arrival of LANCEL and now watches on in horror…

**Inside the capital**

Narvi, Baldr, and all the other golem units began to retreat back to the royal palace after receiving the order from Hodr. Captain Sakura and the other captains could only watch at what was about to happen inside their own kingdom. Hodr and his nobles watched in rapt wonder as the massive white machine known as LANCEL unfurled its large cannon. Rygart and his unit watched from inside the wall where they lie in wait for the plan to begin; Rygart began to sweat as he watched LANCEL.

Colonel Io and his two elite fighters heard the order from Borcuse and began to retreat as well, leaving behind his foot troops and the golems who had also heard the order. All of the Athens golems pilots began to panic and tried to run.

**Borcuse' Unit – hillside**

Having issued the order to retreat, Borcuse ran to his golem and jumped inside the cockpit. He started the golem up using his energy and drew his massive sword and forwent the cloak. One thought had gone through his head at the time.

'I must reach that golem, it will be mine!'

Borcuse then began to make his move and went into a full out run down the hill he was on. They only problem was, he had to go through the capital to get to the massive machine that would be his. Two other golems followed him as he ran toward the wall.

Io and his troops ran past the other interior walls as they tried to take cover, but it was too late. LANCEL let loose one round from the grenade cannon, and hell on earth had become true.

**Outside the fourth internal wall – hillside**

LANCEL fired the grenade cannon once, and the machine bucked under the recoil. The feet on the machine dug into the ground and the cannon slowly reloaded as the barrel cooled. The grenade round flew toward where the gathered Athens golems tried to run for cover. However, it was not meant to be as the round impacted a golem and tore through it like wet tissue paper before hitting the ground. Once the shell hit the ground, it exploded. And what an explosion it was, the ground tore up in chunks and threw the golems away after completely obliterating them. Io and Borcuse both stopped in their tracks and looked at the carnage wrought by the unknown machine. The explosion traveled high into the air while the base easily covered half a section of the third internal wall. Queen Sigyn covered her mouth to stifle a gasp, while Hodr and his nobles watched through the top of the kingdom tower. Rygart looked on with a dropped jaw at the sheer power that machine had, and that was just one weapon and one shot.

**LANCEL- cockpit**

Daemoin had to gather himself quickly from the recoil of the grenade cannon and then looked at the display before him. He looked on as the dust settled and he could only look on in horror at what had happened. Lancel also looked on as she waited for the dust to settle and clear. Everyone was waiting for it to clear, wanting to see if anyone had survived the onslaught on just one grenade round.

**Third Internal wall – aftermath**

The debris and dust slowly begun to settle and shapes could be seen from with the cloud. The wind, as if answering everyone's call began to pick up. It blew the dust and smoke away only to reveal a charred and ruined landscape. Pieces of the Athens golems remained and the buildings that once stood proud were reduced to rubble. Baldr and the other golem pilots all turned to where Daemoin and his machine stood, and they watched as the cannon slowly folded back into place and they could hear the locks engage. It was deathly quiet as the battlefield had taken a turn, a massive turn.

**Borcuse**

Having stopped mid-charge, he could only look on at the devastation that golem created. Soon, a very dark smile crept upon his calm face and he turned back to the machine and laughed like a madman. His charge begins anew and the other two golems with him only stood and watched as their commander went for a death wish.

The machine would be his, and no one would stop him. Not even the machine itself, he was a god in battle and many men fell before him. This would be no exception, he would see to that.

**LANCEL – hillside**

Once the cannon folded and locked back into place, Daemoin stared at the display with shaking hands. He had that much power from just one attack; he had wiped out almost an entire unit of Athens golems with that one shot.

"Lancel…what other…weapons are there currently equipped to you." He asked with a shaky voice.

Doing another check she could only frown at the weapons she had. It was the same weapon on both left and right arms. She did another check and then frowned before she spoke.

"It seems I only have three weapons: the cannon and two swords."

"Swords? For close range right?"

Lancel nodded before she looked at the specs of the weapons on her arms and sighed in relief. She then brought up a holograph of the weapon. It showed what looked like to be a shield of sorts, painted white on the inside but hold the same yellowish gold border as the rest of her frame.

"It's called a laser blade, Daemoin. But it also does what it looks like it acts as a shield for melee weapons. So those…pressure guns…as you call won't harm you. Are you good with blades?"

Daemoin was about to answer when a blaring alarm sounded and a red text box blinked to life on the HUD.

[Proximity Alert!]

Time seemed to freeze as Daemoin turned the machine to face where the alert told him to turn. Borcuse appeared in the display with his golem, its sword already coming down for a strike at the head of LANCEL. Daemoin's eyes turned cold and the amethyst color turned almost glacial as his instincts kicked in.

**Outside the cockpit – LANCEL vs. Hykelion**

The Hykelion brought its sword down on LANCEL's head, only to be blocked by the shield/laser blade on the left arm. The Athens golem was not deterred and made to strife with its left hand, holding another sword that was drawn from a compartment on the right hip. Again, the strike was blocked by the right arm this time, wielding the same shield/laser blade weapon. LANCEL brought its right knee up and went to ram Hykelion in the chest. However, Hykelion used its weight to avoid being hit by leaning to the right. The Hykelion landed on the ground and went to sweep the LANCEL off her feet. LANCEL brought the right leg down and slammed its foot into the ground to support itself from the leg sweep.

The dust cloud kicked up by LANCEL soon settled, and Hykelion was lying on the ground motionless. LANCEL slowly backed away some and turned its head to where a heavy lance lay on the outer wall before turning back to Hykelion. Slowly raising off the ground the Hykelion seemed to tilt its head.

"What's wrong? I was wide open! Why did you not end it then and there?"

LANCEL seemed to bore into the Hykelion with its stare. The machine slowly began to walk forward, the thunderous footstep shaking the earth.

"Because I do not kick my opponents while they are down, ready yourself Borcuse!"

Once more the two mechanical titans engaged in battle. LANCEL thrust its left fist forward and in turn, the shield extended to go past the fist. Likewise, the Hykelion charged forward and thrust its long sword toward the outstretched fist. The shield and sword met before deflecting one another, the shield smashed into the Hykelion's right shoulder, while the long sword slammed into the left shoulder of LANCEL. But to Borcuse horror, the sword merely slid off the armor of the AC while the shield took a large chunk of the shoulder armor off. Once that had happened, LANCEL brought its right fist in and quickly slammed into the chest area of Hykelion knocking it backwards.

**Baldr's location – near the royal palace**

General Baldr, Narvi, her brother Nail, Loggin, and all the other Krishna golems watch as the two titans battled one another. Baldr seemed impressed with Daemoin adaption of the machine he had found. He reminded himself to get the notes and report from him and the team later. But now was a pressing matter. He was equal in skill to Borcuse, a general whom had many victories under his belt and had not lost one golem during his time. But now…he was being evenly matched.

**Athens Forces**

Io and Leto along with the remaining forces watched the battle as well. They could not believe that their General was being matched like this. They continued to watch, even as some of the soldiers wanted to go and help their commander. They were scared, hell who wouldn't be. Two machines of that caliber were nothing to them. But this battle, no it couldn't be a battle. It was more like a grudge match between two rivals.

**Battlefield LANCEL vs. Hykelion**

The Hykelion landed on the ground with a massive ground shaking tremor just before it jumped back to avoid another shield covered fist the plowed into the ground below it. Using its scorpion like tail whip on the right shoulder to try and grab the arm. It wrapped around the shield covered forearm of LANCEL and begun to pull. LANCEL slowly started to move toward Hykelion not of its own will but from the force the Hykelion was trying to exert. Another whip like tail came out and tried to crush LANCEL's head, only to be blocked by the other shield arm. This time LANCEL's right hand shot out and grabbed the tail, when it made contact the hand closed around the tail whip and it too began to pull. However, LANCEL had the upper hand; the whip like tail was crushed under the pressure and was ripped straight from the Hykelion's shoulder, taking the other section of shoulder armor with it. The Hykelion bent back slightly and began to fire the pressure guns from its knee joints. The quartz rounds managed to break off the tail at a joint inside the hand of LANCEL. The hand exploded in a shower of metal and crystal as the tail too exploded into uselessness. The two machines jumped away from one another and kept the distance. Neither combatant moved, they refused too. Inside the cockpits, both warriors breathed heavily from the exhaustion they put into controlling the machines. The Hykelion then stood up straight and pointed the only remaining sword it had at LANCEL. LANCEL too stood upright but did not raise a weapon, Borcuse looked on in curiosity before his grin came back full blown and he charged…

**General Baldr – Royal Palace**

He watched Borcuse charge, he saw that LANCEL did nothing to stop it. So he took that time to latch the flare he promised that would launch the second phase of the plan. Raising his golems arm, he fired the flare into the sky. And he waited with baited breath.

**Fourth Internal Wall – Hanger**

They saw the flare and grinned. They had watched for this moment to strike, they had waited for so long since they had come up with the plan. Now it was time to act, so act they did. Rygart smirked from within the cockpit of Delphine and started her up. The displays came to life and he grinned more.

Outside the wall, a few remaining Athens soldiers were walking around trying to gather their comrades to begin a counter-attack. A small piece of the wall fell from the top and lightly hit a soldier in the helmet. He leaned down and picked up the small rock only to toss it down once he heard a groan from behind him. He stood up and turned, only to be crushed along with his fellow footmen by the chunks of wall that exploded outward. The few remaining soldiers watched as the now armor clad Delphine stood tall, only to be shot done from Rygarts other team members. That's when Delphine made her move, and she exploded into action. Jumping onto of the wall, Rygart willed his golem to move at massive speeds toward where Borcuse and Daemoin were fighting.

**Flashback**

Rygart stood with Hodr, Sigyn, Captain Sakura, General Baldr and the other nobles inside the meeting room as they went over their plan. Narvi had outlined that Delphine would hide on the inside of the wall in the hanger for golems.

"Delphine would hide on the interior of the wall while being retrofitted with armor and the weapons the Queen Sigyn created. The first part of the plan is to make sure Rygart exit the hanger and make his way toward the fourth gate. Then after reaching the gate he would engage the Athens forces and try to reduce their number before trying to take on Borcuse himself. Rygart, can you do this without taking any damage while running toward the gate?"

Rygart looked at Narvi and smiled softly before nodding his head.

"Yea, I can do that. Delphine has the speed for it, I'm sure she can get there in one piece."

Sigyn and Hodr looked on at the two as they outlined the plan. That's when Narvi stopped and looked at the rest of the members gathered in the room. She then asked the most important question of all…

"All in favor?" she asked tersely.

She, Baldr, Sakura and a few nobles raised their hands to agree with the plan.

"All opposed?"

Sigyn, Hodr, and Baldr raised their hands to show their vote. All heads turned to Rygart and waited with hitched breathes. He looked at Sigyn and smiled once more before he cast his vote to go with the plan.

**End Flashback**

Running at near top speed, Rygart made Delphine jump high into the air off the wall and land just in front of the fourth gate. On Delphines arms were two massive throwing weapons, one was a four point star while the other was a tri pointed star, and he disengaged them and caught before they hit the ground. Using Delphines immense strength, he launched both weapons at the same time toward the remaining Athens forces that were awe struck by LANCEL's and the Hykelion's battle. They didn't have time to turn as they were literally mowed down by the two throwing weapons. Having finished his part of the plan, Rygart turned Delphine toward the other two titans, reaching up with its right hand, Delphine pulled out a curved sword from a storage compartment under the armor it wore. She then began to advance on the two machines; Rygart had only one thing on his mind…

**Continued battle of LANCEL and Hykelion **

Borcuse was in the middle of his charge with his grin still plastered on his face. He advanced toward LANCEL in a mad dash, bringing his long sword back for a strike he swung. That's when he noticed something odd on the shield arm of the right arm. The shield had an opening near the tip that covered the fist and LANCEL brought the arm up and spun backwards, bringing the right arm and toward the Hykelion's head. That's when he heard the noise he would come to dread in their fight, a loud crackling noise then a soft pulsing sound. A large energy blade erupted from the opened end of the shield, the blade solidified into a charge stream and LANCEL completed its spin.

SSSHKRRTT!

The Hykelion's head was sent flying from its shoulders, along with some of the torso armor. Borcuse was now exposed in his cockpit and LANCEL was now facing him again with blade nowhere in sight. The Hykelion still stood tall, but was frozen in mid step as Borcuse looked on at the machine before him. His grin was gone and his eye was actually open in surprise. But his surprise did not get to last long as LANCEL seemingly vanished before his eyes. LANCEL used its impressive boosting capabilities to do a Quick boost to the right, exposing the now rapidly closing in Delphine. LANCEL boosted behind the Hykelion and leg swept it from off its feet. Borcuse cursed as his golem fell to the ground and tried to get back up but it was too late. Both Delphine and LANCEL stood over him, Delphine with her blade poised at his cockpit and LANCEL standing a few scant feet away with the right shield arm up and the front of it open, ready to strike.

Rygart sat inside the cockpit of Delphine and was raging an internal war of his own. He wanted to kill Borcuse for murdering Girghe right before his eyes, even though Girghe gave his life willingly. But he also didn't want to kill him because most likely they wanted him to be a prisoner of war. Sighing to himself, Rygart moved his right hand to a panel in the cockpit and turned up the outside megaphone on Delphine.

"We have captured Borcuse, what should we do?"

Narvi grinned as her planned had worked…albeit different from they had worked out but it still worked. She began to run toward the three machines and opened her comm. for all to hear, both sides included.

"This is Narvi of the Krishna golems. All units stand down and stop fighting. We have captured Borcuse and the war is over!"

**Athens Forces**

They couldn't believe it, their commander had been beaten. He had been beaten by some unknown machine and now they want to stop fighting. It seems that today was not their day at all.

**With the three titans**

Delphine still held the sword at Borcuse cockpit; he was waiting for some sort of order. Borcuse grinned again and turned his comm. on. He spoke with a sneer in his words to Rygart.

"Ha…ha-ha."

"What's so funny Borcuse?"

"This won't last…your false peace. I'll be back in Athens in half a year at the most. And then I'll be right back here, taking over your pathetic kingdom. Just like you came back here….Rygart Arrow."

Rygarts hand twitched slightly before he glared at the image of Borcuse on his screen.

"Yes Rygart arrow, pilot of the Delphine or should I say the Black Golem."

"You…You knew. You knew it was me! YOU KNEW IT WASN'T GIRGHE! AND YOU STILL KILLED HIM!"

Borcuse could only laugh as Rygart struggled within himself; he then snapped…and rammed his sword into the torso of the Hykelion, killing Borcuse instantly.

"DIE!" Rygart yelled as loud as he could. And he watched as Borcuse died laughing.

Daemoin could only watch from within the cockpit of LANCEL as he too did the very same thing to his supposed comrade back at the rocky plains he found him. Shaking his head, he turned LANCEL away from Rygart as he began to laugh like a madman, only to slowly stop a few seconds later. He then heard Rygart over the comm.

"I did it Girghe…I did it. But...why do I feel so empty inside now…" Rygart said mostly to himself before he broke down and cried inside Delphine. That's when Narvi and some of the other golems ran up to the two machines, she issued orders to capture the remaining Athens forces that chose to surrender themselves while of the Athens forces tried to fight back, only to get torn apart by the fire from the Krishna golems.

LANCEL slowly started to march away from the scene, headed back toward the Royal Palace. Once he got far enough away the machine seemed to slouch slightly, as if a great weight had been lifted from its shoulders. As he walked the machine up the main road, he was stopped by Baldr. Being three more meters taller than his golem, he knelt LANCEL down and Baldr stood stop his golems shoulder. Daemoin opened the cockpit and slowly climbed out before he made his way around the torso of the AC and sat on the core. Both men looked at one another before Baldr spoke.

"You did well, I'm sure the King will be glad to have this war over with. But first things first, what is that?" he asked pointing to Daemoin's machine.

Daemoin chuckled softly and smoothed his hair back from his eyes. Looking up at the head unit of LANCEL him smiled.

"LANCEL is what it's called. But the proper name is Armored Core or AC for short sir. I'll give you a detailed report along with all the notes that I and the research team took, before we were betrayed."

Baldr had a stunned look on his face when he heard that tidbit of news. He only nodded once before climbing back into his golem and motioned for Daemoin to follow him to the Palace. Rolling his shoulders, Daemoin climbed back into the cockpit and followed his commander.

The war was over…but was it really?

To be continued in the next chapter…Orlando makes their move after all this time…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of Armored Core/Break Blade: Shattered Memories

Standard Disclaimer still applies…

Last Time: Daemoin and Borcuse battled on while Rygart mowed downed a few remaining Athens forces. Borcuse is dead and now the war is over…or is it?

Two weeks have passed since the failed invasion of the Krishna Kingdom by the Commonwealth of Athens. The people of Krishna had begun to rebuild their homes, and with sad, heavy hearts they buried their dead and gave them the rest they needed. Now the country slowly comes back together, King Hodr and his nobles along with his most trusted military personnel meet in the Kings conference chambers.

**Royal Palace – Meeting Room**

"…and that is my report sir."

All the gathered people in the room could only look on in disbelief at what they had just heard from the former golem pilot. Hodr turned in his seat to look at who had spoken with a questioning look. He could not begin to fathom the possibility of such a place existing. However, the machine that had shown up proved otherwise. Now, Hodr had a foothold on the island he sent the research team too. Rubbing the bridge of his nose he sighed and then looked up at the pilot.

"And this is everything that you had, including Ms. Kelars notes?" he asked.

"Yes sir, Ms. Kelars notes along with my own and that of the other researchers…before they were killed." The voice spoke.

Hodr was then reminded of the other reason he had called the pilot here. Standing up and moving around the long table, the nobles along with Captain Sakura, General Baldr, Rygart and Queen Sigyn turned their heads and followed Hodr as he moved toward the pilot who had yet to move from his standing position. Hodr now stood in front of the pilot and his eyes bore into the amethyst eyes.

"You also stated in your report that the other golem pilot who was assigned to the team turned traitor, yes?" A nod of conformation was his only answer.

Hodr cupped his chin in thought, he closed his eyes and chose his words carefully. Rygart looked at his best friend with a confused look.

"We did find the remains of the golem in question, along with the body of the pilot. Now, the question is, why would he do that? And for what purpose would have it accomplished?"

The pilot looked at Hodr and he knew what was going to happen if he did not answer correctly. For now, Hodr was trying his best to keep from arresting the pilot and having him thrown in jail until a trial could be arranged, which could take a long time given the recent invasion. However, Hodr knew that this pilot he could trust, Baldr saw to that. Along with Captain Sakura, who also gave her support of the pilot.

Said pilot reached up and smoothed his long black hair back from his eyes 'Need to cut my hair…its annoying' he thought to himself before getting back to the matter at hand.

"Sir, as far as I know, the pilot may have been a spy for Athens. But I am not going to jump to conclusions until the proper evidence can found. All I know is your Highness is that once we reached the island everything was going smoothly. We had split up to cover more ground at the base of the wall. My team and I had gained access to the inside of the complex and well, you know the rest. Ms. Kelar can back that statement up because she was wounded by him during the scuffle."

Hodr nodded and seemed somewhat pleased by that answer, so he turned away from the pilot and looked at the rest of the persons gathered. They murmured amongst themselves for a moment until Captain Sakura spoke up.

"Your Highness, what shall we do with the machine and the pilot? Surely we cannot lock him for defending his homeland." She stated/questioned.

Many others in the room agreed with her statement and Hodr smiled more. He then raised his right hand for silence and they complied. He turned back to the pilot in question and chuckled before setting his hand on the pilots shoulder and spoke with his 'King' voice.

"As of this moment, you will not be arrested for anything. Right now, we need all the pilots we can get and your machine will be added to the ranks of over military. By my order and no one else, Pilot Daemoin Strife you are hereby ordered to join the Millennium Corp and serve under me personally. Unfortunately, we lost General Baldr's son, Girghe. I know it is too soon, but you will take his place as the fifth and final member of the Corp. Do you understand this Daemoin?"

Daemoin stood up straight and saluted his King, he then turned to look at Rygart as if silently asking his permission to take the place in the Corp. Rygart only smiled slightly and nodded once, but in his mind he could not forget Girghe. Turning his gaze back Hodr, Daemoin nodded.

"Yes sir, I accept this with the utmost honor."

"Good, now report to Narvi and tell her of the situation. After that, report back here for an assignment I wish to give you."

Daemoin saluted once more and turned toward the door, he then walked out of the meeting room and closed the door after him. Sighing to himself at the tense atmosphere in the room he chuckled before heading to the hanger bay where the AC was stored. After all, he had to report to his new commanding officer.

**Golem Hanger Bay – Millennium Corp**

Daemoin soon entered the hanger bay of his new Unit and looked around at all the mechanics and the researchers who were busy working on the golems for repair. There at least eight bays altogether, he saw Delphine and Narvi's golems in the far back left side of the hanger. Also spotting a green golem and a yellow golem as well. Scratching his head he tried to figure out whose golems they were but gave up on it and went searching for Narvi. Walking into the hanger abit farther, he spotted a good number of people surrounding one bay and was confused. He made his way over to where they had gathered and soon saw that Narvi and a number of techs stood before LANCEL. He then heard Narvi's voice cut through all the chatter.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. We need to repair this golem and retrofit it for combat ASAP. The pilot may be showing up soon so we need to get it working order for him. We don't know what this thing in made of so be extremely careful, and don't enter cockpit!" Narvi ordered.

Daemoin shook his head as the techs all scattered and went about doing what had been ordered. Soon the crowd thinned and he made his way up to where Narvi stood with her back to him. He stood beside her silently with his hands clasped behind his back and spoke softly.

"Quite a machine isn't it?"

Narvi, having no idea that this was the pilot of the AC just spoke as if she were talking to a friend.

"Yes, she is. Very impressive find, though with the firepower that it displayed two weeks ago…it scares me some. The design of it is very complex in the armor, like it was meant to take beating and then some." Narvi cupped her chin as she overlooked the machine in question and sighed.

"Yes, she can take a beating and then some, considering that it took on Borcuse and only lost the right hand."

Narvi nodded to the logic the person had then turned to said person and jumped back in surprise. She didn't know who she was speaking too and thought it was just another tech. A blush appeared on her face as she looked at Daemoin who had a smile on his face as he waved slightly. Narvi gathered herself and then brought her fist down on his head for startling her.

"Idiot, don't scare me like that. Who are you anyway?"

Rubbing his head with his hands, Daemoin could only chuckle as he felt around the spot where he was hit. Opening one eye and looking to Narvi he spoke.

"Ow, that hurt Captain. Anyway, I am Daemoin Strife. I'm the pilot of LANCEL here" he gestured to his AC and the spoke once more.

"The King ordered me here and told me to speak with you about my new orders."

"New orders?" she asked.

He nodded and then felt that his head was okay for now and stood upright. He looked at Narvi before saluting her and smiling.

"I am the newest member of the Millennium Corp, Captain Narvi. King Hodr asked me to take Girghe position since his…passing" He spoke softly at the end knowing that the members were still affected by his death at the hands of Borcuse.

Narvi only signed at rubbed her head in frustration before looking back at Daemoin. She then turned and started to walk away but not before motioning him to follow her.

**Border between Krishna and Orlando – Fort Talnish**

Sounds of combat could be heard throughout the entire fortress during the day. Numerous amounts of reddish black golems could be seen marching from Orlando's border as they fought over control of the area. The green golems of Krishna fought off the attackers and were soon rewarded as some of the Orlando golems retreated back a ways.

However, the fort did not expect what was coming next, a large shadow over fell the fort. It blocked out the suns light somewhat and then all went silent. After the shadow moved away, the fort now lies in ruin…

Smoke rose from the rubble that lay left behind from the unknown carnage wrought by the massive weapon.

**Royal Palace – Binonten **

Daemoin and Narvi had been walking for awhile now and talked about different things, ranging from combat tactics to everyday things. Only now, Rygart and Loggin had joined them in their walk. Not long after the final member of their Unit joined them. Nail, Narvi's older brother had joined and now they were sitting at a table in the Palace.

"So you're the newest member huh? Aren't you the pilot of that…what's it called?" Nail asked.

"An Armored Core or AC for short. Her name is Lancel though, and yea I am the newest member."

Nail grinned and extended his hand out to Daemoin, who in return grasped Nail's hand and they shook. Loggin also extended his hand and Daemoin repeated the motion. So far, they had welcomed him with warm smiles and open attitudes. Daemoin was happy to be welcomed to the Unit. Rygart leaned forward and rests his chin on his hands.

"So, what kind of weapon was that thing you fired back then? It was huge and took out all those golems." Rygart asked using hand gestures and noises to explain the cannon. Daemoin could only laugh along with the rest at Rygarts child like behavior. He shook his head and wiped away a tear from his eye at laughing so hard.

"From what Lancel told me, she called it a grenade cannon. A weapon of devastating power that can wipe a small town. But it is limited to ten rounds, well nine now since I fired one round already. I need to ask the King if I can return back to the island and see if there any other ammunition crates that may be there. From what I understand, he may even use the complex there as a base. Not sure just yet, it's all hush-hush type info."

They all nodded, having heard the same information from the King himself. That's when Narvi had the proverbial light bulb go off in her head as she lightly tapped her left hand with her right fist.

"Why don't we do a training exercise, we need to build up our teamwork anyway now that we have a new member."

The others nodded and smiled at her reason, but before they could get up a voice caught their attention.

"That is actually a good idea Narvi. I couldn't have said it better myself."

The members of the corp. turned and looked at the voice before they all scrambled up and saluted the person. Hodr along with Captain Sakura, General Baldr and Queen Sigyn stood before them with amused looked on their faces. Hodr motioned for them to calm down and relax as he chuckled. Sigyn looked to Rygart and smiled softly as he smiled at her, which didn't go unnoticed by Hodr or Baldr. Hodr only had a small smile as he knew they both still harbored feelings for one another. He even told Rygart he had lost interest in Sigyn a while back. But for the Kingdom's sake they had to uphold their image as King and Queen. Hodr shook his head and turned back to his Millennium Corp.

"Narvi, go ahead with your idea. You have my permission to exit the capital. However, Captain Sakura and General Baldr will accompany you in their own golems."

Narvi and the others saluted their king and they each went to their bays with their respective golems. Hodr looked to Sigyn with a coy grin and she blushed knowing she had been caught. He only shook his head and motioned for her to come with him back to the castle. Baldr and Sakura both walked with them but then went to their golems.

**Arracan Desert – Krishna Territory **

The five members of the Millennium Corp stood in the desert facing one another. Two other golems stood on a cliff face and watched them. General Baldr's dark green golem stood with its arms crossed as he watched them. Captain Sakura's silver white golem stood beside Baldr, her golem was a specially custom golem built for defense with two one half tower shields built onto her arms. They both watched on in amusement as Narvi grilled Rygart at Daemoin about teamwork. It was funny for two titan class machines to rub the back of its head in embarrassment.

"Daemoin, I want you and Rygart to go head to head. I need to see your combat ability first hand in order to assess what we need to work on." Narvi barked out.

The two machines looked at one another and seemed to shrug before they began to walk away from one another. LANCEL walked over to a large boulder that stuck out of the ground and then a loud clank was heard. The large cannon on its back released and fell to the ground, shaking it. The others gathered could only sweat drop at the sheer weight of the weapon. LANCEL then turned to Delphine and seemed to roll its shoulders as if getting rid of the cannon got rid of a lot of stress.

Rygart turned Delphine toward LANCEL got rid of the throwing darts on its side. Delphine then picked up the eastern blade and seemed to look over it before nodding and then took up a stance. LANCEL looked at Delphine and then to the shields on its arms before it slowly started to walk away from the rock and took up a position away from the cannon.

"Narvi, I got rid of the cannon because I don't want to kill anyone if you ask."

Narvi seemed to understand this and smiled at the action. She nodded to herself before she moved her golem in between the two titans. Raising his golems right hand, she looked at Delphine and then to LANCEL.

"Remember this is just a practice match, although your machines will be damaged, do not under any circumstances go for a killing blow. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am"

"Yea"

Narvi's brow twitched at Rygarts nonchalant answer but sighed before bringing her golems hand down quickly.

"BEGIN!"

Delphine exploded into action as Rygart took to the offensive, pushing his golem forward he sped to LANCEL and Daemoin. The Armored Core stood still for a moment and Rygart wondered what Daemoin was doing, until the AC seemed to twitch slightly. As Rygart closed in on LANCEL, it twitched again and Rygarts battle instincts took over as he tried to back pedal Delphine. It was good timing on his part, just as he started to back pedal, the automatic posture control on Delphine took over and the machine leaned back as the shield covered left hand of LANCEL swung through the air just inches from Delphines head.

Rygart grunted at the g-forces his machine gave as he jumped backward to avoid the other shield clad hand of LANCEL as it brought it up to uppercut the torso area. LANCEL then went back to standing upright before SHE exploded into action. The large machine went into a dead run at first then began to pick up speed. Delphine righted itself and brought the eastern blade up and charged head on to meet LANCEL. Rearing the left fist back, LANCEL thrust forward with it. Delphine deflected the fist covered arm with the blade and then brought the left knee up and slammed it into LANCEL's core. Not being deterred, LANCEL copied the motion only with the right knee, being careful not to make contact with the large fin like protrusion and hit Delphine in the arm. Both machines deadlocked as LANCEL held onto Delphines knee and Delphine holding onto the fin piece.

**Cliff face – Baldr and Sakura**

They watched as the two machine faced off and traded blows. Baldr nodded his head at the match and had a smile at how far Rygart had come with Delphine in just these few short months of combat. Sakura herself was impressed with Rygart as well, as she was the one who taught him his skills with the sword and how to use the golem as a weapon. But she also could help be impressed with Daemoin. He had his machine for only a few weeks, yet he moved it as if it were him fighting. This would be a good match nonetheless of who won or lost. Baldr was having the same thoughts on Daemoin as Sakura. He had met Daemoin only a few times before, until he was placed under his command by Hodr a view years ago.

**Flashback- Binonten 5 years ago**

The current King of Krishna stood before Baldr as he saluted. The King turned to him and cleared his throat before he spoke. He pointed to a line of golem pilots and they stood at attention.

"General Baldr, these men have recently signed up to be golem pilots. You may choose seven of them to be under your command. Train them, fight them, and make them into soldiers who can defend their homeland with pride."

Baldr nodded and went about selecting his pilots with a cautious eye. After selecting six pilots, Baldr went over the other four that remained. As he was about to choose the final one, the doors burst open of the meeting hall and a pilot could be seen breathing heavily. Panting and out of breath the 20 year old pilot closed the door and tried to gather himself before getting in line. Baldr raised a brow before smirking and pointed at the pilot.

"You, what's your name and rank?"

The pilot in question stood stock still and being caught off guard and then sloppily saluted, his uniform wrinkled from the run he did from the other side of the palace.

"Daemoin Strife, new golem pilot recruit sir!"

Baldr just chuckled and told Daemoin that he was final choice in Baldr's new squad.

**End Flashback**

Baldr smirked at the memory and turned back to the match at hand, only to have his golem duck to avoid the flying sword.

**LANCEL vs. Delphine – before flying sword**

Rygart moved his golem to avoid another attempt at being shield bashed in the right leg. LANCEL shoulder tackled Delphine, making the golem fly back slightly. The match had been going on for 20 minutes so far and it looked as though neither combatant was slowing. Narvi watched with wide eyes at the tactics Daemoin and Rygart were using. They didn't not follow regular moves like using the sword or pressure guns. They both used their golems as weapons, like extensions of their own bodies. That's when Narvi's attention was caught by the fight once more. Delphine brought the eastern blade down in an overhead strike toward LANCEL's head, while LANCEL brought both shields up and caught the blade in between the gaps. After what seemed like an eternity, both machine wrestled for the blade until LANCEL kneed Delphine in the torso causing Rygart to release the blade. LANCEL threw the sword behind it almost lazily but in turn, it went soaring into the air and toward Baldr and Sakura, who managed to dodge at the last second. LANCEL brought the right shield down onto Delphines head and Rygart jumped back as did LANCEL. The two machines raced toward one another once more and a large dust cloud was kicked up from the thunderous footsteps. Clangs and crunching could be heard as the two machines fought in the dust cloud until the wind blew it away. The machines were deadlocked now, neither of them moving. Delphine had unsheathed another blade from a compartment and had it pointed and LANCEL's core while LANCEL's laser blade was pointed mere inches from Rygarts cockpit. They both had stopped from killing one another from their respective cockpits.

**Narvi and the others**

They could not explain it, Narvi's golem had dropped its pressure gun in surprise. Her jaw was clinched in disbelief. Loggin could only watch in sheer rapt fascination along with Nail. LANCEL stood up and the blade vanishes back into the shield, then with the same hand offered it to Delphine. Delphine took the offered hand and LANCEL pulled her up with some effort. Delphine sheathed the blade and Rygart could be heard laughing and whooping in joy. Daemoin could be heard chuckling with him. Narvi gathered herself and opened the comm.

"Umm…good work you two. That was unbelievable!" she shouted excitedly. She and the others all rushed over to the two titans and stood before them. Baldr and Sakura also joined them and Baldr's golem clasped both of them on the shoulders. Sakura clasped her golems hand onto LANCEL's free shoulder and gave them both thumbs up. Narvi cleared her throat and smiled at the two machines before she spoke up once more.

"Alright then, let's get on with practice."

And so the day went on, with the whole team working together with everyone smiling and having a good time. Sakura and Baldr went back to the Palace to tell Hodr of the mock fight between Daemoin and Rygart. Needless to say, Hodr spilled his coffee in his lap and burned himself when he heard that.

Once the team practice was over for the day, they started to head back to the palace. Only LANCEL stayed behind to gather the weapons left behind. Walking back over to the boulder, LANCEL knelt down and grasped the cannon in its hands.

"Crap, how am I supposed to re-equip this thing?" Daemoin asked Lancel herself.

She giggled at his question and then appeared on the display screen.

"You can't do it by yourself, the parts weight and they way it was designed you need either another AC or a crane to help."

Daemoin sighed and set the cannon back down and went to gather the sword Rygart left behind and Narvi's pressure gun. He then went back to the cannon only to see Narvi herself and her golem there. Narvi was sitting on the boulder and waved to him as his machine knelt down beside her golem and he climbed out from the cockpit. Hoping down from the leg and onto the boulder he went over to Narvi who tossed him a canteen of water. He caught it and sat down a few feet from her, he opened the canteen and poured some of the water over his hair then drank some before tossing it back to Narvi.

Looking up at the setting sun, Narvi admired the orange and purplish colors the sky gave off. She then turned and looked at Daemoin and blushed a bright red as he took his uniform jacket off and his shirt. He wasn't built like most of the other golem pilots, but he had a frame built for speed and power she thought. Turning her head away from him he chuckled at her and she blushed a deeper red this time at having been caught. Leaning back against the rock he looked at the sky as well.

"So what brings you back out here Captain?"

Narvi jumped at hearing him and blinked before she looked back at him again. Looking back up at the sky again she smiled and spoke softly.

"Couldn't leave a team member out here by himself now could I? Besides I thought you might need help with the weapons." 'Damn it girl, get a hold of yourself!'

Shaking his head to rid himself of the excess water, he turned to her. Waving a hand in front of her eyes she jumped again. He chuckled once more before looking at the ground.

"I heard what happened to General True…You have my condolences Narvi. He was a good man at heart."

Narvi looked at Daemoin with wide eyes before she could say anything, tear welled up in her eyes but she didn't cry, she couldn't cry. She would not let herself. She wiped the tears from her eyes before speaking and gathered herself.

"Yea, he was like a father to me. When I heard from General Baldr that he had been killed, I almost lost it and charged into the fray. It took Rygart, Nail and Loggin to hold me back and they had to actually lock me up for two days…I took his death hard. But I had a job to do and I had grieved enough. He would have wanted me to move on anyway."

Narvi then opened her eyes only to look cross eyed at a finger that poked her nose softly. She blinked and then looked at Daemoin who had a smile on his face. He chuckled at her reaction and then she too chuckled. Her face then had a serene look to it and she smiled, but to Daemoin it looked as though her face was shining. He blushed this time, but not from embarrassment, but from the way Narvi looked. His heart started to speed up and she then looked back up at the sky, tucking a few strands of hair behind her left ear.

"Beautiful…" he muttered mostly to himself but Narvi heard him.

"You think I'm beautiful, Daemoin?" she asked softly and he blushed again and nearly fell off the boulder before he caught himself. He then pulled a Hinata and poked his fingers together softly and nodded to her question.

Narvi smiled and then moved a bit closer to him. She leaned in and then spoke softly.

"Well, you're not to bad yourself either." She then giggled…yes giggled.

Daemoin turned to her with a look of disbelief before he too smiled.

"Narvi?"

"Hmm?"

Rubbing the back of his head he sighed and then steeled himself. He faced her again and then asked her one question.

"Would you…like to have dinner with me sometime?"

Narvi looked at him and tilted her head in a cute way while placing a finger to her chin in mock thought. For a few minutes she sat there as if thinking about his question before she answered him.

"Sure."

To be continued…

A/N: What was the shadow that loomed over the fortress, a new weapon? How will the 'dinner' turn out between Daemoin and Narvi? And will Hodr spill more coffee on himself, find out in the next Chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of Armored Core/Break Blade: Shattered Memories

Standard Disclaimer still applies…

Last time: Rygart and Daemoin at Narvi's orders held a mock battle, at the same time a shadow moved over Fort Talnish and now it is no more. Daemoin and Narvi made plans to have dinner.

**Western Krishna Territory**

Among the vast Kingdom that is Krishna, there lie more desert and canyon walls than forest or farmland. Atop a large spire of rocks that twist around one another stands LANCEL with Delphine on a lower spire not too far away. Both machines looked to one another before jumping high into the high, well Delphine jumped but LANCEL boosted.

The two pilots had been taken away from their personal time to undergo this mission under the secrecy from Hodr.

**Flashback (Pt. 1) – Rygart**

Rygart lay under the stars on Delphines shoulder armor with a smile on his face. He and Sigyn had spent the whole day together at the behest of Hodr. He couldn't have had a better time, ever. Now he was looking forward to it again and sighed happily to himself. He sat up and crossed his legs only to be hit upside the head by a small rock from below. Rubbing his head he peered over the edge and looked down to see his little brother Regarz.

"You little punk, what was that for?" he yelled, only for his brother to stick his tongue out at him and pointed to the doorway behind him.

Rygart blinked and then looked behind him to see Hodr and two guards standing in the doorway. Hodr waved silently and then beckoned Rygart to him. Sighing to himself Rygart stood up and then hopped off the shoulder and landed on the floor sticking both hands into the air like a gymnast. Hodr openly laughed and Rygart rubbed the back of his head looking sheepish.

"Yo, Hodr. What can I do for you almighty king of Krishna?" he joked.

Hodr just chuckled some before he turned serious and looked at Rygart. He spoke softly to him.

"I need you to follow me, I have to gather one other person for this and I will explain everything in detail."

Rygart could hear the severity in his voice and did not question anything and followed Hodr. Something told him that this would be big…

**End Flashback (pt. 1) – Rygart**

Both machines landed heavily on the rocky ground at the same time. Delphine stood up and Rygart used her camera eyes to zoom in on the distance. Luckily Sigyn was able to take the timer off from Delphine thanks to a smaller version of the power source LANCEL uses that was retrieved from complex back on the island. Daemoin used LANCEL's camera eyes to zoom in as well and saw smoke from the distance, the same as Rygart. They both nodded to one another and took off again, Delphine along the ground while LANCEL took to the air once more.

"Rygart, can you see anything else down there? All I have is just the terrain and smoke from before."

"Nothing yet, Dae. I got the same thing as you, just rocks and the smoke from before."

"Alright, I'm going to land and run with you. Get ready."

**Flashback (pt.1) – Daemoin**

Laughter and giggling could be heard in the hanger bay of the Millennium Corp. The giggling turned into full blown laughter and continued for a few more minutes before slowly dying down to soft giggles once more. Soft light could be seen from the hanger of LANCEL, and two shadows could be seen from within. The giggling picked up again as Daemoin tickled Narvi's sides softly. This was their dinner they had planned a few days ago and both were enjoying it. Narvi was lying on the blanket that Daemoin had lain out for their dinner by 'candlelight' although the candle was a small quartz lamp. Daemoin was tickling her sides and loved her laugh and giggles. Her uniform jacket along with his lay forgotten on LANCEL's foot. Narvi sat up some and looked at Daemoin with a soft smile before she reached up and ran her hand down his cheek softly. After he asked her to dinner that day, they had spent a lot of time together. Daemoin could swear that this was right; it just felt good to him.

"Thank you Daemoin, for everything these past few days. I've had a wonderful time with you. I feel free again."

Daemoin smiled and softly nuzzled her hand with his cheek before he spoke, he softly kissed her fingers.

"You are very welcome Narvi. I'm glad I could make you smile and laugh. And you are right, these days were amazing. It just feels right to me."

Narvi smiled serenely and then sat up fully facing him. She cupped his chin softly and then pressed her lips to his, the kiss only lasted for a few seconds but to them it was forever. Daemoin had a glazed look on his eyes as she pulled back and then lay back down on the blanket. Daemoin blinked and then looked down at her before leaning down himself and kissing her softly. She brought her fingers up and ran them through his spiked hair, now much to her pleasure had purple highlights. After kissing each other for a few minutes they sat up to catch their breath and Narvi gasped softly. Daemoin turned around and saw Hodr standing with two guards and Rygart.

"Evening your Highness." He spoke softly.

"Good evening Daemoin, Narvi. Daemoin, I need to speak with you. Please follow me."

Narvi looked at Daemoin and she nodded once while Daemoin sighed to himself but Hodr caught it. He hated to interrupt Rygart and Daemoin but he needed them for this. Daemoin reached down and picked up his uniform jacket, dusting it off. He then leaned back down and softly kissed Narvi's hair.

"I'll be back. I promise Narvi."

Smiling at him Narvi rubbed his cheek once more and then spoke to him.

"I'll be waiting Dae…"

Raising an eyebrow slightly at the nickname she gave him, he just smiled and chuckled before turning to Hodr and following him.

**End Flashback (pt. 1) – Daemoin**

That had been a week ago for the two pilots. Now they were nearing the border of Krishna and Orlando. They were only a few miles from the smoke that the scouts had seen a few days before and reported it to Hodr. The machines landed and stopped running as they gathered themselves.

**Flashback (pt. 2) – Hodr**

The two pilots followed Hodr and his two guards quietly as they walked through the palace. It was eerie to say the least. Hodr was never this serious before, whatever it was must have unsettled him greatly. They finally reached a room and Hodr opened it and entered, followed by the guards then Rygart and Daemoin. The guard shut the door and Hodr sat down in a chair at the far end of a table. At the table were various people, Baldr, Captain Sakura, Sigyn and a few select Nobles that Hodr trusted the most.

"Rygart, Daemoin…what I am about to tell you is to be kept between yourselves and the walls. Do you understand?"

They both nodded but that wasn't enough for Hodr.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear, you are not to speak a word of this or I will have you executed for treason. Now I am I clear?"

Turning to one another, they both paled greatly and snapped to attention. They saluted their king and answered at the same time.

"Yes Your Highness!" they both said.

Hodr smiled and then got down to business. He pulled out a map and then placed it on the wall behind him using a few magnetic stones to hold it up. They looked at the map and saw that it was of the western region of Krishna, with a few black X's and then one red X near the border.

"A few days ago, a scout from the western area reported back to me with disturbing news…" Hodr began.

"He told me of a large shadow that moves across the land, now at first I thought he was trying to play a prank on me like most scouts do now a days. But when he described what happened I nearly lost it. According to him a view eye witness' from a few villages near there, the shadow stopped over Fort Talnish and the fort vanished. He gave very detailed accounts of what happened and let's just say, it's troubling."

Rygart looked at Hodr with a stern face and spoke in a tone he only used once before when he faced Borcuse.

"What does this have to do with me and Daemoin?"

Hodr smirked and pointed at them.

"You two are going to undergo a secret mission for me. I want Delphine and LANCEL to go investigate this phenomenon. Whatever you see, I want you to capture with you machines eyes. If you find anything of what you might think if importance, bring it back with you. Once you have done that, report back to me at once. You will leave tomorrow night from the western hangers. Do you have any questions?"

They both shook their heads and Hodr dismissed them.

**End Flashback**

Now here they were, standing just outside where the fort had once stood. Delphine and LANCEL looked at the rubble before Delphine pointed to the right of LANCEL. LANCEL's head unit flashed blue once, acknowledging the silent order and then went to the right while Delphine went left. Treading around the rubble lightly, both machines slowly started to head up the hill toward where the fort actually lay. The cameras recorded everything that they saw, however upon reaching the top of the hill and entering through what was left of the main gate, Rygart almost lost his stomach. Before them lie hundreds of bodies, blood was everywhere and limbs lay strewn about.

"Lancel…keep recording everything you see. I'm getting out…to check for survivors." Daemoin said quietly.

Lancel said nothing and did as Daemoin asked, turning her head every few moments to take in everything on the camera. The cockpit opened and he climbed out. Once getting to ground level, Daemoin pulled out his pressure pistol and slowly went to where the bodies were. Delphine turned away from the massacre and went to scout around the walls.

"Dae, I think I may have some golem foot prints over here. They aren't any of Krishna golems though. I never saw a print like this."

"Alright Rygart, keep recording and follow the tracks best you can. Just don't go too far."

"Roger"

Delphine followed the prints until they seemingly vanished. Rygart scratched his head and then jumped up onto the wall and saw something he shouldn't.

"DAEMOIN! Come quickly!"

Daemoin, hearing Rygarts scream jumped back into LANCEL and boosted over to the wall and landed beside Delphine. Before them, was even more carnage than before. All the Krishna golems that were stationed here lie in pieces across the small plain. Craters lined the plain in different sizes and scorch could be seen. The machines recorded it before they began to walk down the hill to the plain.

LANCEL ignited her boosters and began to hover across the plain as she made her way to the biggest crater. What Daemoin found however was a large piece of…something…in the crater.

"Lancel is there any way you can tell me what that might be?" he asked.

Her avatar popped up on the HUD and nodded as she set about trying to scan the thing. Once her scan was complete she brought the piece up on the holoscreen for Daemoin.

"Daemoin…this piece I have seen before, back from my time period."

"Wha…how? Nothing like that should be here."

"That's not it though, that piece only goes to something bigger. Called an Arms Fort…Daemoin if that machine is up and running there is nothing we can do to stop it! Whoever found it had the technology to repair it and possibly change its power source. The AF is called the Answerer and is like a massive floating fortress. Its firepower is much much greater than you cannon."

Daemoin stared at Lancel for a moment before sliding down the crater wall and then stepped to the part. LANCEL reached down and picked up the monstrous solar panel. Delphine looked down at the panel before LANCEL boosted back up to him.

"Rygart, you need to get Delphine to maximum speed and go back to the capital. Take this with you, it's not that heavy so Delphine should be able to carry it. Inform Hodr of what happened here and show him the camera footage. Do not stop for anything, I'll be behind you once…-deep breath- once I bury the bodies here and level the fortress wall.'

Rygart knew better than to say anything and took the solar panel in Delphines hands. He turned the machine around and slammed the control yoke forward and took off running. The machine took large strides and covered more distance, before he soon disappeared into the horizon. Daemoin turned LANCEL back to the crater and breathed heavy. Shaking his head he turned LANCEL and went to head back to the fortress, until LANCEL went airborne from being hit in the side. The machine hit the ground hard and slid a good ways before coming to a stop. Daemoin bounced around inside the cockpit but thankfully the restraints held him in place as he tried to right his AC. Turning to the right, the machine faced what had hit him and looked up…way up. The shadow covered him and LANCEL and Lancel herself seemed to shudder in fear. Daemoin's brow dripped sweat as Lancel spoke.

"Answerer…"

**Rygart – Nearing the edge of the rock spire field**

Delphine sped across the spires, jumping from each one and then launching off it to get to the other. He soon reached flat ground and Delphine landed hard, Delphine turned to look back at where the fort was and Rygarts eyes widened in fear at what he saw.

**Few miles north of the fort – Orlando Territory**

The Arms Fort – Answerer, after a long long slumber was once again reborn. It had undergone a huge retrofit since its days of destruction. It no longer floated above the cities as it used to, no longer supported by Kojima Particles. It now was supported by massive tank tread like legs and the solar panels were now smaller in size but the Arms Fort itself was intact. Surrounded by quartz armor and weapons the large machine sat atop a hill and looked down on the fort, but more specifically…LANCEL, another machine of old.

Three large cannons from the sister Arms Fort, The Spirit of Mother Will, no adorned the top of the AF. Aimed at LANCEL the cannons fired their payload at her.

**LANCEL – cockpit**

Daemoin cursed as he saw the cannons fire and ignited the boosters and flew backward at top speed. All three rounds impacted where he was just at but did not explode. Not wanting to question it, he turned his machine and boosted away as fast as he could. Quick boosting to the left, he spun around and slide to a halt.

"LANCEL! What the fuck happened?"

"I don't know Daemoin, the rounds should have exploded if that is that cannons I think they are. Unless the cannons never had munitions' and they are using quartz rounds. That's it! They must have converted the cannons into a quartz cannon!"

Daemoin still had sweat dripping from his brow and cursed as another volley was fired at him. He quick boosted to the right this time and growled as he twisted the left control yoke.

**Arms Fort – Answerer (Interior)**

Soft yet maniacal laughter could be heard as people rushed around the inside of the Arms Fort cockpit.

"Oh what a wonderful day this is, I finally got this old scrap heap working and now I found another." The voice said.

A soldier rushed up to the where the voice was and bowed on one knee. His face hidden by his helmet he spoke softly to the voice.

"Ma'am, the machine we are firing at still evades our shots. And we do not have enough quartz shells to keep firing like this, what are your orders?"

"-sigh- Cease fire and turn this beast around, let us head back to the castle for now. We shall restock ourselves and then head to Krishna!"

**LANCEL – cockpit**

"Daemoin, they stopped firing on us! Now is your chance!"

"Way ahead of you Lancel."

He twisted the control yoke and the large grenade cannon unlatched and unfolded before locking into place, fully extended. The AC slammed it right foot into the ground, angled backwards to help reduce the recoil, the cannon aimed up high and then settled.

The cannon roared to life as it spat its payload out at high speeds, the round tore through the air and arced up high before coming down.

**Answerer**

The Arms Fort shuddered under the impact of the grenade round that exploded just in front of it, the quartz armor did nothing to stop the shrapnel the hit the machine. The machine rocked again as another round impacted, this it made full contact with the back half of the machine.

"Get us out of here! NOW! We can't fight back like this, our armor is falling apart!"

The Arms Fort slowly turned and begins to trudge its way back to Orlando, but not without its damage already done. Another grenade round impacted where it once sat, barely missing it. The explosion that followed only scored the rear quartz armor.

**LANCEL – cockpit**

Daemoin leaned back in the pilots chair and breathed raggedly, he held his side from where the first volley knocked LANCEL to the right, the cockpit took some damage and lodged a piece of metal into Daemoin's side. His wound wasn't life endangering, but he was bleeding bad.

"Lancel can you pilot your frame back to Binonten?"

"I can't, I'm sorry. My functions are limited to just the cockpit and weapons systems. But the good news is, you drove away the AF for now. The good news is, since it can't use KP anymore its combat stats have dropped severely. Good job Daemoin"

Daemoin laughed lightly and gripped the controls but then remembered something from back at the island.

"Lancel didn't you say something about an Overboost or something of the like back then? What is it?"

Lancel blushed lightly and wrapped his hand on her head for forgetting that.

"Overboost is a type of boost built for very high speed thrust. It exerts a large amount of thrust by compacting it into the back of my core and then shooting out."

"Can we use it constantly?"

Lancel nodded a few times and looked at him.

"We can, but after about 15 minutes I need to shut it off to cool down. The cool down time isn't much though, it would five minutes."

"How long would it take us to reach the halfway marker to Binonten?"

"Well by foot it took us a week to get here, but with Rygart going full speed if he didn't stop at all we should get there in about two days. Rygart would take three tops."

Daemoin gripped the yokes and nodded to her before he pushed forward, LANCEL broke out into a run and then the boosters ignited and she began to glide across the plain.

**Delphine**

After having seen LANCEL unless hell on the AF, Rygart turned back around and broke out into a full run. His camera had picked up the basic shape of the AF and now he had what they needed for Hodr. He only hoped that Daemoin would be able to catch up to him soon.

**Three Days Later – LANCEL**

The Overboost cut out and LANCEL landed on the ground hard. Delphine stood in front of him and Rygart couldn't believe his eyes. Just a few hours ago he had gotten a transmission from Daemoin saying that he was catching up to him. LANCEL slid to a stop and the AC stood upright as the OB cooled down. Steam could be seen rising from the frame as it slowly cooled from the constant use of the OB system. The comm. opened and Daemoin could be heard laughing like a school boy who just got his favorite toy.

"I'll never get tired of that, damn what a rush!"

Rygart laughed as well and set the solar panel down before he had Delphine walk up to LANCEL.

"Are you ok Dae? That thing back there, what was it?"

"It's called an Arms Fort Rygart, machines of old like ours but according to Lancel, it lost a majority of its firepower when they rebuilt it. The thing is though I don't know who was piloting it…"

LANCEL turned and started to walk onward and Delphine soon started to walk as well, after gathering the solar panel they both headed back to Binonten.

**Few Hours Later – Royal Palace – Binonten**

Both machines trudged up the main road to the capital, both pilots exhausted. Slowly they made their way to the main gate where they were greeted by the guards and a few golems. LANCEL and Delphine both waved and walked/dragged themselves up to the palace.

Inside the palace a guard rushed to Hodr's throne room, once reaching it he opened the door and stepped. Hodr looked up from the report he was reading and nodded to the guard. The guard saluted and then smiled before he spoke.

"Your Highness, our two titans have returned."

Hodr's eyes opened wide and he rushed to the window that faced the main gate and road. Sure enough, the two machines were slowly walking up the road with two golems following them. Sigyn rushed to the window as well and her eyes lit up with joy as she saw Delphine before she and Hodr both rushed off to meet them. At the same time, another guard had rushed to the Millennium Corps hanger.

**Millennium Corp Hanger Bay**

The guard ran full sprint to the hanger and almost fell over once he got there. The other members of the Corp looked at him and he held a hand up to give him a second so he could catch his breath. Once he composed himself, he saluted. Still out of breath he spoke the good news.

"The titans have returned home, they-…" was all he said as a black blur sped past him. He blinked in confusion until he saw a chair that was spinning and then fell over. He looked at Nail and Loggin then put two and two together and saw that Narvi was not among them anymore. Loggin chuckled before standing up and Nail as well before they headed out. Nail clasped the soldier on his shoulder.

"Thank you for the update, come on."

And so, the three of them walked to greet the titans.

**Main Road – Entrance to the Palace**

Both machines stopped walking and stood still before Delphine put the solar panel down. Then the machines knelt down and the cockpits opened, allowing their pilots to get out. Rygart was the first out and jumped down to the ground, cracking his back and neck he grinned and turned to LANCEL. Daemoin stepped out of the cockpit then slowly climbed down and then hopped to the ground. He met up with Rygart and they bumped fists and started to walk toward the archway.

"It feels good to be home after three weeks huh?" Rygart laughed to himself as did Daemoin.

"Well more like a week and half Rygart but who cares eh?"

As they walked to the gate, two blurs shot out at them, one red and one black. The red blur hit Rygart and bowled him over and the black blur rushed Daemoin and knocked him back. Rygart blinked a few times before his vision adjusted and he looked up to see Sigyn sitting on him with tears in her eyes. She then hugged him tightly and spoke the words he wanted to hear.

"Welcome home, Rygart."

At the same time, Daemoin was mowed down by the black blur, he hit his head on the ground and winced slightly before he felt tears land on his face. Not opening his eyes, his left hand reached up and lightly cupped the face of who was crying and he heard a quick intake of air. The tears still continued to fall as he smiled softly.

"I'm home…Narvi."

Hodr and the others looked on with smiles on their faces. Those two had been so much trouble while the two titans and their pilots were away. He had not seen them like that before but he knew why…they were in love. He then looked up at the two machines and saw the damage done to them. Delphine didn't have much except a few dents in the armor but LANCEL took the cake on damage. The frame was riddled with holes and the right arm looked like something had tried to crush it. The armor was caved in at some points and even some of the upper shoulder was missing. The right leg has stress fractures on it and pieces had fallen off her.

"What in the name of Binonten happened out there…?" he questioned himself.

Daemoin wrapped his arms around Narvi's waist lightly, and he stood up. He carried her over to where Hodr was standing and gently set her down, but she wouldn't leave his side. He didn't mind, he loved having her near him anyway. He saluted his king and then spoke.

"We have what you needed Your Highness, everything was recorded and I do believe I fought what destroyed the fort…"

Hodr quickly composed himself and bore into Daemoin's eyes before motioning him to follow. Hodr wanted his answers and Daemoin had them.

To be continued in the next Chapter…

A/N: The Arms Fort has appeared once more, now what will happen to Krishna? How will Hodr take the news of such a weapon?


End file.
